Education ministers have announced that 14 to 19 year olds are to be allowed to concentrate on studying vocational subjects.

To allow more time for skills training the academic curriculum is set to be reduced, with less emphasis on information and communication technology and modern languages.

Forum Response: Association of Teachers and Lecturers

Gwen Evans, acting joint general secretary, said: "The government must really show it has learnt from experience. There were three key lessons from the recent experience of Curriculum 2000.

"First, that government micro-management only de-skills everyone else. Second, that young people may be willing to be pioneers but they loathed the sense of being guinea pigs. Lastly, that vocational education will remain the poor relation until the government is less ineffectual in its dealings with employers.

"Today's 14 to 19 proposals go some way to meet the needs of learners but there is still real doubt about whether enough money will be available to support the changes properly."

Forum Response: Institute of Directors

Ruth Lea, head of the policy unit at the IoD, said: "The IoD is a strong advocate of developing increasing flexibility in secondary schools and the furtherance of vocational training for the 14 to 15 age group.

"We welcome, therefore, the Department for Education and Skills' proposals for the support of work-related training and better business school links and for the long-term development of a more coherent vocational pathway in schools."

Forum Response: Professional Association of Teachers

Jean Gemmell, general secretary of the Professional Association of Teachers, said: "We would welcome a more flexible, less prescriptive curriculum, with fewer compulsory subjects, more options for vocational subjects, and greater professional freedom for schools and teachers to be able to teach according to their pupils' needs and abilities.

"PAT advocates a broader, more flexible curriculum that can develop the skills and meet the needs of all students. We would certainly like to see fewer exams, as students are currently over-tested.

"All students should have opportunities to succeed. The current obsession with league tables and grades achieved in academic subjects ignores the practical and vocational lessons that keep many pupils switched on to learning.

"It is important for both pupils and employers that there is a clear parity between 'academic' and 'vocational' qualifications. Dropping the term 'vocational' from 'vocational GCSEs' should help towards achieving this.

"Too many pupils are written off, or see themselves as written off, as failures because the system recognises one form of success only. We need to raise the status of job-related learning.

"We support the idea of some pupils undertaking a vocational curriculum in the form of workplace experience. It would also be beneficial for 14 year olds undertaking vocational courses to have the opportunity to go to further education college.

"The post-14 phase of education is a challenging area and we hope that the government's 14 to 19 strategy will motivate and inspire students to learn, offering them a broad and balanced curriculum that reflects their changing needs and aspirations."

Forum Response: National Union of Teachers

Doug McAvoy, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "I welcome the government's action to bolster confidence in the AS and A2 qualifications. That has to be in the best interests of young people, schools and employers alike.

"In contemplating a new baccalaureate type qualification the government must learn the lessons of the recent past. Proper consultation with teachers, sufficient funding and training, proper piloting and development time must be in place before a new qualification is introduced.

"There is a danger in promoting a division between academic and vocational education. It is vital that we remove the second-class stigma from vocational courses. But the government must be careful and not fall into the trap of categorising young people into two types. That would invoke the ghosts of the pre-comprehensive past.

"All young people are entitled to a broad curriculum and should have the chance to take both academic and vocational routes."